00:00 - Intro

00:54 - Upcoming Events

03:26 - Quote from The Creative Act

04:37 - Warren Frank

10:58 - Showcase Finale

12:11 - Ian McKechnie

24:02 - Vaudeville Look Back

29:13 - Ron Sharman

33:43 - Shrek The Musical

34:25 - Outro

In this brand new episode of the Now & Then Podcast, may I start by saying Thursday, June 18th at the Flato Academy Theatre, starting at 7 p.m. is the last Showcase Open Mic where a bunch of local comedians do improv. In fact, this has been a little competition, and the six finalists will all be there! Feel free to come to this event! It’s free!

Also in this episode, we will be talking about some big upcoming events, including Shrek The Musical with the Triple Threat Theatre’s cast gracing the stage, tributes to some great ones like Simon & Garfunkel & Bruce Springsteen, Foreigner Meets Journey, and much more!

I also interview our producer and friend Warren Frank, about what it’s like for him to write and produce music, and how his band The Kents are getting back together for a 10th anniversary tour this summer!

Our historian friend Ian McKechnie also looks back with us about a story from 95 years ago, in 1931, when these special outfits were given to the ushers, projectionists and volunteers as an addition to a big renovation that took place. Ian also reminisces about what it was like to volunteer at the theatre and educate high schoolers when he worked at the Olde Gaol Museum.

We also look back at what we talked about in Vaudeville with Mary The Ghost, all the way back in Episode 2 back in 2022, and some cool things our dear friend Ron Sharman has recently seen at the Theatre!

The Now & Then podcast is back, but in addition to telling new stories, we're also going to take a look back into our jar of treats. Our very first episode was three and a half years ago, when we got in contact with Mary the Ghost, and we're going to reminisce about her stories of haunting and practical joking.

The highlight of the podcast, though, is a special event next Sunday, April 26th, which will take us all back in time when the theatre specialized in silent films, and not just displaying them, but having live performers! Did you know they had those?! They will be playing a film from 1922 that actually did play at this exact theatre back then, also with live music, including our friend Sophia Mackey singing live songs!

We talk with our good friend Ian McKechnie, who's made the night possible, and Shannon Rozell, a local musician from Fenelon Falls who's been all over Canada and details her journey into composing original music, signing with a producer, and recording her first album!

Timecodes:

Intro: 00:00

Victoria Sheppard: 01:06

Episode 1 Flashback: 06:31

Ian McKechnie: 13:42

Shannon Rozell: 24:43

Outro: 36:04

00:00 Intro

01:15 Linda Brown

05:20 Open Mic

11:26 Ian McKechnie

23:24 David McMillan

31:51 Dylan John Garton

37:34 Jess Spagnolo

40:24 Victoria Sheppard

49:18 Beth Wilson

55:56 Ron Sharman

1:03:14 Outro

Welcome to our episode for Fall 2025, and Happy Thanksgiving! We have an array of guests this time with some wonderful stories.

We have Linda Brown, who co-hosts Open Mic nights at the Academy Theatre with me, and we reveal a fun opportunity to record a song of your very own for free at a legit studio. We have several guests of our recent Open Mic and their stories of who they are.

Ian McKechnie talks about a famous film and stage actress Marie Dressler and how she made her huge start here at the Flato Academy Theatre.

David McMillan is a young man now on the theatre’s committee, originally from Ottawa and having recorded for some amazing bands and working for some big-time record companies throughout his life.

Dylan John Garton is the tech guru of the theatre, and has been helping out shows since he was 13 years old. Yep. 13! He makes sure everything’s working technically, and there was something here at the theatre that really ignited his passion for the craft.

Jess Spagnolo is their new handler for Communications and Marketing, and is a renowned artist on the side.

Our General Manager, Victoria Sheppard, talks about some exciting upcoming shows, such as A Christmas Story The Musical, and we then hear from the director of that upcoming show, Beth Wilson!

Finally, we hear from our frequent theatre flier, Ron Sharman, talking about how he recently saw the Oasis band, famous for Wonderwall at the Rogers Stadium in Toronto - and he recently saw Jane Goodall speak before she passed away.